And the coundown is on...

As announced a couple weeks ago, we're leaving for France on Sep. 5th - so just days away until we embark on our 3+ month adventure in Burgundy and Champagne! Harvest 2017 is beginning as we speak in some spots - a few folks have already started picking down in the Mâconnais, and our producers on the Côte de Beaune are telling us they should get going in earnest on the 5th or 6th. In Champagne they're also looking at the first week of September in most sectors, so we'll be arriving right at the start of the action.

I'll be helping out at several of our domaines during crush and vinification. There's nothing like getting your hands dirty in the winery and on the sorting line to really get a good overview of the vintage. I'll likely put some time in at at least 6-8 different estates up and down the Côte, and I'll be reporting here with all the pics and updates.

Combating the frost this spring at Domaine Huber-Verdereau in Pommard...

2017 is looking to be the abundant quantity vintage they so desperately need in Burgundy - and the quality is expected to be superb as well. Not since 1999 has Burgundy been on the receiving end of above-average quantity and top quality at the same time. All of our producers are smiling in anticipation of a harvest that could save their bacon. The Pinot crop looks heavier than the Chardonnay overall, the whites having been hit harder by the frost episodes early in the season. In all, everyone is optimistic at this point, and it will be exciting the be there and be a part of it.

While on the ground over there, I also hope to be able to pry loose some additional allocations of the magnificent 2015s for you - we've already sold everything we could get our hands on earlier this year. Sometimes just by physically being there, a few more cases can magically become available - at any rate I'll be there to try and score as much as I can for you.

Can't wait to get back to La Dilletante in Beaune, my home away from home...

Stay tuned for all the action. I can already tell you we've got great offers coming your way next month from Georges Laval in Champagne, Domaine Thibert and Frédéric Gueguen in Burgundy, and what I think is perhaps the most exciting Champagne find we've made yet...

Le Hamburger - the hottest thing in France, bien sûr! This one at Sacré Burger in Reims rocks...